Marathon Sunday - Ride 3 parks in a row!

Friday, November 2 update:

First and foremost, I hope everyone is safe, warm, and dry following the devastating hurricane. I know that too many are not. My sympathies to those that lost loved ones, property, or even just power. I was very, very lucky and lost nothing. But most of my family and friends are still without power and may not have it restored for weeks. They have been coming to my house for hot showers, hot meals, heat, light, and recharging of portable devices (and attitudes). So help whoever you can. Many need it.

Despite the above (or perhaps because of it), I still plan to ride on Sunday. Join me if you can. I know there are issues with getting gas, so be smart and stay home if you are running low. And there will likely be many new trees down, so we don't know exactly how long the normal trails will take. We'll adjust as needed.

DON'T FORGET TO TURN YOUR CLOCKS BACK 1 HOUR ON SATURDAY NIGHT!

Here is my plan:

Meet at 8:15 am (it will really be 9:15 am on the previous day's time so don't whine about the early start


)

First ride at 8:30 am (Deer Park: address above - see directions in 8/12/2012 ride - we will NOT park by the school unless Deer Park Road is inaccessible). This ride should take about 2 hours. Then drive to next ride.

Second ride at 11:00 am (Tranquility Farm: Tranquility Farm Lane and Stuyvestand Road - see directions in 9/16/2012 ride). This ride should take about 2 hours. BRING SOMETHING TO EAT AFTER THIS RIDE BEFORE THE NEXT RIDE!!!!! Then drive to next ride.

Third ride at 2:00 pm (Kittatinny Valley: Goodale Road - see directions in 9/9/2012 ride). We'll adjust the length of this ride to our energy level, but it may be another 2 hours. I'd like to go out for food after, assuming the local restaurants have power.

DON'T FORGET TO TURN YOUR CLOCKS BACK 1 HOUR ON SATURDAY NIGHT!

See you Sunday!

Original post:

I have a friend at work who runs in the NYC marathon every year and I have gone to watch in person twice. Even watching on TV, I am always in awe and inspired by the runners! So I want to do a mountain biking marathon (of sorts).

As a tribute to all of the marathon runners, let's ride 3 parks on marathon Sunday! I have done this a few times before. I'm considering Deer Park, Tranquility, then Kittatinny. We would have to drive from one park to the next, but they are not too far apart. Join 1, 2, or all 3 rides! I may decide on different parks, but this is my current plan. All rides will be at an intermediate level.

Details to follow, but I know we have to start reasonably early to complete all 3 rides. I'll post expected start times at each park later. Probably will end up with something like 9am at Deer Park, 11:30am at Tranquility, and 2pm at Kittatinny. Don't forget we set the clocks back one hour the night before so it will get dark earlier.

In your RSVP, please indicate which ride(s) you plan to join.

Hopefully, hurricane Sandy will not wreak too much havoc on the trails but we will have to wait and see.

Gary